Port Adelaide great Chad Cornes has dropped a trade bomb on his club, saying gun forward Mitch Georgiades is set to leave.
Speaking on SEN, Cornes — who was an assistant at Port up until last July — said he believed the 24-year-old star would return to his home state of Western Australia at the end of 2027.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Georgiades future uncertain amid West Coast speculation
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“I loved working with Mitchell,” Cornes said on SEN on Wednesday.
“And look, I hope he stays and plays his whole career at Port Adelaide. But I would be very surprised if he doesn’t go back to Perth, I’m thinking West Coast, at the end of next year.”
7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said Cornes’ comments have not gone down well.
“I understand today that has gone down like a lead balloon with Georgiades and his management,” Cleary said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters .
“Clearly they are committed to the next 12, 18 months at the Power. They want to see it through to 27, but no commitment beyond that.
“And the Eagles, they have circled him before and no doubt will again.”
Agenda Setters host Craig Hutchison said Port Adelaide fans would be a “little bit nervous” when they heard the Cornes comments.
“Mitch Georgiades (is) the great hope of that club … they’re building the forward line around him. He’s an elite player,” Hutchison said.
Georgiades’ teammate Jason Horne-Francis addressed the bombshell speculation on Thursday.
“I think Mitch (Georgiades) is definitely happy (at the club) …,” Horne-Franics said on Triple M’s Breakfast with Roo, Ditts & Loz.
“I think we’ve done a really good job over the years to keep our talent in and we’ve made the club a really great space to be around.
“Mitch is loving his time. I’m especially close with Mitch. We live really close to each other and we catch up all the time. I can’t see why he wouldn’t want to stay.”
But AFL great Nick Riewoldt suggested, after back-to-back wins (including Sunday’s thriller over Port), that West Coast was re-emerging as a “destination club”.
“It’s amazing. Have West Coast in the span of two weeks just become a destination club gain? They have,” Riewoldt said.
“I mean, (Melbourne’s) Trent Rivers is all of a sudden being spoken about.”
And Agenda Setters host Craig Hutchison agreed, saying “they’ll be back in the Chad Warner fight” soon.
Warner is a star midielder for the Swans but also comes from Western Australia.
He signed a contract extension for Sydney last year but it was only for two years.
Cleary said this time last year Warner went over to WA, played a game, and stayed for the bye.
“(He) backed in staying for the Swans for two more years. Well, you might be having the same conversation this year about his Eagles future,” Cleary said.